On Monday, health care reform was dealt a large blow. The requirement for Americans to purchase health insurance was found unconstitutional by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson, of Virginia, on grounds that Congress is overstepping its function to uphold the commerce clause of the Constitution. Recently, the law has been challenged by the governors of various states. This could support the upcoming appeal in Florida, where the requirement was found constitutional because all Americans would at some point require health assistance, and without insurance be a liability to other taxpayers. Comments and decision on the constitutionality of the mandate in Florida are expected to be wrapped up December 16th.
Whispers here in DC find the argument to be in vain, as nobody expects the law to be rescinded, especially due to unconstitutionality, as the drafters anticipated this attack. However, what this ruling does is provide ideological support to the Conservative freight train that will continue its unstoppable course until the bill is killed or transformed into zombie legislation. We could be witnessing the first domino of a media=public opinion storm.
However, it is important to remember that the individual mandate is not integral to health care reform as a whole. Though the mandate provides a substantial source of funding, the hundreds of unquestioned initiatives that are the wheels of the bill will still roll properly. What will happen as the bill passes round three, is that the newly shifted House of Representatives will hold the moral high ground , which could trickle up to the Senate, but not the Executive branch. The law may hold strong until 2012, when we have a whole slew of new junk to deal with.
No comments:
Post a Comment